Anda Burji (Scrambled Eggs cooked with Onions & South Indian Spices)

I feel like blogging has taken over my life.  If I’m not working or cooking or spending quality time with my hubby, I’m blogging or thinking of ways to improve my blog.  There are days I don’t watch TV which is a big deal for me.  Prior to blogging, watching TV was my favorite hobby.  Luckily I have DVR so I tune into my shows over the weekend… The Hills, The City, The Bachelorette, Oprah!  What I’m trying to say here is, blogging has become an addiction of mine and I love it!  My husband is yelling at me as I write… saying I need to go out and mingle with people.  He thinks I’m, “lost in my blog.”  I guesssssssssss!  🙂

Anda Burji today!  Anda is Egg; Burji is… hmm… how do I explain this?  Perhaps, a way of preparing a dry dish.  Egg Burji is another dish that comes from my friend’s (Anu) Mom, who happens to be an amazing cook.  As I have mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I give her mom a whole lot of credit for teaching me so much about cooking and introducing me to a wide range of flavors.  Anu’s Mom has always been so hospitable to me each time I’d visit and she’d make sure I left their home satiated.  Eight years have passed and I still love going to her Mom’s home to enjoy her amazing Andhra cooking, it feels just like yesterday.  Sometimes we are blessed to have an awesome family, and other times we are lucky to have friends who become our family… I am so incredibly lucky to have both! 

For this dish, I added a tomato and some cilantro… Anu’s Mom didn’t do this.  So the tomato and cilantro are optional.  In addition, I found the Bengal Gram (Chana Dal) to be slightly tough on the teeth, so I will omit this next time I make this. I guess it’s something I’ll have to discuss when I see my Aunty next.

NUTRITION: Eggs are a good source of Protein and Vitamin D. The yolks do contain a lot of cholesterol, however the yolk contains tons of nutrients that are good for you.  Tomato is a good source of Vitamins A and C. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Olive Oil – 1 1/2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Black Gram (Urad Dal) – 1 tsp (if you are not using Bengal Gram, use 2 tsp instead)
• Bengal Gram (Chana Dal) – 1 tsp (optional)
• Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves (Curry Pata) – 10 leaves or so
• Green Chilies – 3 (chopped)
• Garlic – 3 (chopped)
• Red Onion – 1 medium (chopped)
• Eggs – 4
• Egg Whites – 2 (this will save about 10g of fat)
• Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp
• salt to taste
• Plum Tomato – 1
• Fresh Cilantro – chopped
• Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Here is what you’ll need.  Chop the green chilies, garlic, onion, and tomato.

 

2. You will need to work quickly now.  Set your seeds aside.

3. Heat a pan on medium heat.  Add oil.  Once hot, add the mustard seeds.

4. Once the seeds start to splutter, add black gram (urad dal) and bengal gram (chana dal).  Saute for about 45 seconds.
Optional: Chana Dal is optional… it was hard on my teeth for some reason.

5. Add the cumin seeds. 

6. CAREFUL NOW! Once they turn slightly red, add the curry leaves, garlic, and green chilies. A lot of crackling! Saute for 30 seconds or so.

7. Add onion.  Sauté for 10 minutes until golden brown. 

8. In a bowl combine 4 eggs and 2 egg whites. Set aside.

9. Once the onions are golden brown, pour the egg mixture.
Optional: you can add all 6 eggs, however I am trying to cut back on fat, so I omitted 2 yolks.

10. Stay close.  Gently combine.  It’ll eventually turn into scrambled eggs.

11. Once the eggs are slightly scrambled, add the red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt.  These are the 4 key ingredients in any Indian dish.

12. Keep combining for a few minutes. 

 

13. Once the eggs are scrambled and cooked completely, add the tomato.  You don’t need to cook the tomato any further.

 

14. Chop the cilantro.

 

15. Add Garam Masala and Cilantro to the eggs.  Combine.  Turn off the gas. Egg Burji goes really well with rice, this is an Andhra dish after all! Roti will work too.